Up until now, I have been keeping an inventory of all the items in the emergency pantry and other supplies on my own personal computer. As I would acquire or rotate items, I would update accordingly. For the most part that worked, pretty well. But a recent event through a monkey wrench in my process.

One of the reasons we all prep is to have items on hand in case of emergency, whether it is an event like shtf, a hurricane, power outage, job loss, etc. One of my kids has been out of work for a couple of months now, and we have been meeting a lot of their grocery needs with items we have on hand in our regular, everyday pantry. However, they have now discovered my emergency pantry and have started taking some of those items. Don’t get me wrong, the whole reason for having the emergency stash it is to use in just such a job loss situation. The only problem I have is to tell me that you took something. If they asked, I would have gladly provided it and adjusted my inventory and plans accordingly. They got permission from the wife, but no one bothered to tell me they had been doing it.

Plans are made on the inventory of stuff that I have on hand, and if enough stuff is missing, it could be a major hardship. For example, I had 50 pounds of a particular item put away and they have taken about 15 of it, a 30% reduction. And the same for canned fruit, vegetables, and a few other items. Needless to say, it could put a major crimp in survival plans for all of us if it continued long enough without me be aware of what was happening.

As it is, no harm – no foul. I’ve been buying a few extra items each time I go to the store to get back to my previous levels, and now I perform a regular inspection to make sure things are about where I expect them to be. I’ve not said anything to any of the family, because it is not my intent to be selfish or hoard, as this is exactly the reason we preppers create these emergency stores. I just chalk this up as another lesson learned.

And when you really think about, it has blessed me in a several ways. 1) Pointed out flaws in my operations and planning 2) Was able to put my preps to good use, 3) Further reinforced the need for prepping to my family. (The wife even remarked how lucky we were to have this stuff and be able to help them) . Reminds of the cliché, “If it don’t kill you, it will only make your stronger”.